The Bible: In the Beginning... is a 1966 American-Italian religious epic film produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by John Huston. It recounts the first 22 chapters of the biblical Book of Genesis, covering the stories from Adam and Eve to the binding of Isaac. Released by 20th Century Fox, the film was photographed by Giuseppe Rotunno in Dimension 150 (color by DeLuxe Color), a variant of the 70mm Todd-AO format. It stars Michael Parks as Adam, Ulla Bergryd as Eve, Richard Harris as Cain, John Huston as Noah, Stephen Boyd as Nimrod, George C. Scott as Abraham, Ava Gardner as Sarah, and Peter O'Toole as the Three Angels.
In 1967, the film's score by Toshiro Mayuzumi was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score. The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures included the film in its "Top Ten Films" list of 1966. De Laurentiis and Huston won David di Donatello Awards for Best Producer and Best Foreign Director, respectively.
The film consists of five main sections: The Creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah's Ark, and the story of Abraham. There are also a pair of shorter sections, one recounting the building of the Tower of Babel, and the other the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The sections vary greatly in tone. The story of Abraham is somber and reverential, while that of Noah repeatedly focuses on his love of all animals—herbivorous and carnivorous or omnivorous. Cats (including lions) drink milk, with Noah's relationship with the animals being depicted harmoniously. It was originally conceived as the first in a series of films retelling the entire Old Testament, but these sequels were never made.
Reviewer:
sammyk1964
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November 2, 2020
Subject:
A TRUE CLASSIC
This is a true classic movie, whether you're religious or not! And, to have the ENTIRE UNCUT version in it's original WIDESCREEN format is a HUGE plus!
Some don't understand why watching "Widescreen" is so much better than "Full Screen" format! But, it's all about what is happening throughout the entire screen! Watching a full screen format, you are missing most of the picture!
Reviewer:
LizaNicole
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September 24, 2019
Subject:
Epic!!!
Thank You!
Reviewer:
Anonymous
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September 24, 2018
Subject:
The Bible: In the Beginning
I’m delighted to see that they actually got the whole movie on here. Thanks again, Archive—and you as well, Agent Ludville! The immediate availability of media is what makes Internet Archive such a powerful resource.
This is a tolerable Bible movie, in my opinion; but I wouldn’t say it is very good. Its chief faults are that it is very drug-out in some places and the musical score is seldom appealing. For some people the nudity is also a problem; but in my experience it is not very imposing, especially as the scenes are so darkly lit that it is hard to see anything at all.
Overall, this film provides a fairy engaging visual experience while teaching reasonably accurate Biblical history at the same time. I cannot, however, say that I would recommend it to others.
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